Egyptian-American comedian, Ramy Youssef, recently won his first Golden Globe Award earlier in the year for his show Ramy – a ‘comedy-drama’ series about an Arab Muslim family living in New Jersey. In a recently-resurfaced episode of the talk-show, ‘Late night with Seth Meyers’,
Youssef was quizzed about his stand-up content, and in particular his
decision to openly discuss his faith during skits. The host specifically
questioned Youssef “on the idea of moderate Muslims, and the offence you take”, to which Youssef described his resentment of the phrase, explaining:
Ordinarily,
the term ‘moderate’ refers to something ‘average in amount or
intensity’, therefore it would not be illogical to assume that a ‘moderate Muslim’
is the ‘average, middle-of-the-road Muslim’. However, on more careful
dissection of the origin and usage of this term, it quickly becomes
apparent that this is not the case. When considering the religious
practices of individuals of any faith, a spectrum of followers can be
identified ranging from radical to moderate to liberal.
‘Radical’ followers of a faith often take up extreme practices and
disfigure the teachings of a religion: a prime example of this
distortion and extremism in radical Muslims would be viewing apostasy as
a ‘crime’ punishable by death which is completely contrary to the
teachings of the Holy Book of Islam, the Holy Qur’an:
‘There should be no compulsion in religion.’ (The Holy Qur’an, 2:257)
On
the opposite end of the spectrum, ‘liberal’ followers of a religion
hold a belief in God, but are open to the dismissal of traditional
religious teachings and practices in the name of ‘progression’ and
aligning with a changing society. In the case of Islam, ‘liberal’ often
refers to followers of the faith who dilute the teachings of Islam to
appeal to the Western model of society and integration, often appearing
no different from their western peers. This may be in the act of ceasing
to worship 5 times a day – a central tenet of the religion, or in only
following Islamic principles at certain points in the year, such as the
month of Ramadan. ‘Liberal’ Muslims may even be detached from the
teachings of Islam completely and only call themselves Muslims in
name. In fact, the Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has
explained how the Prophet of Islam (sa) foretold the divergence of
Muslims from the true Islamic teachings:
‘In his prophecy, the Holy Prophet (sa) foretold of a time when the majority of Muslims would have forgotten the true teachings of Islam and their acts would not be in accordance with their religion.’ (Keynote Address, National Peace Symposium Canada, October 2016).
The Holy Prophet (sa) prophesied:
‘There will come a time upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam except its name only and nothing will remain of the Qur’an except its inscription. Their mosques will be splendidly furnished but destitute of guidance. Their divines will be the worst people under the heaven and strife will issue from and avert to them.’ – (Mishkatul Masabih, Kitabul Ilm)
Thus,
though it appears that the ‘radical’ and ‘liberal’ Muslims would fall
into this prophecy of the Prophet(sa) of Islam, what can be said of moderate Muslims? Although
the name would indicate those ‘average’ Muslims who follow the true,
central practices of Islam, the term can actually be synonymous with
‘liberal’ Muslim, especially due to its origin in Western
discourse. Historically, the phrase ‘moderate Muslim’ arose from
counterterrorist discourse, to separate radical, violent ‘Muslims’ from
their moderate, level-headed counterparts. The term ‘moderate Muslim’
ran deeper than the face-value inference, instead implying that
following Islam in moderation is good and too much of it is dangerous.
In
an age where such language only drives Islamophobia, these terms fuel
the fire of xenophobia. A moderate Muslim becomes one who practices
faith in a way that does not impinge on anyone else, versus the
extremist who is intolerant of rights of other faiths, even to the point
of the right to exist. Adding to the confusion as to whether a moderate Muslim is
one who follows the ‘middle-road’, is the labelling of liberal
practices, such as no longer donning the hijab – a requirement as part
of the Islamic faith for Muslim women, as ‘moderate’. How can this be
so, when it is instead actively going against Islamic teachings in the
name of conforming to Western ideals of femininity and ‘integration’?
It
seems the conflict in definitions is rooted in the conflict in
interpretation of the true Islamic teachings. In fact, the true
teachings of Islam emphasise moderation. The Holy Prophet (sa) of Islam
once stated:
“Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings, afternoons and during the last hours of the nights.” – (Bukhari, Kitabul Iman, Hadith 39)
Whilst
the Prophet (sa) of Islam himself emphasised that ‘overburdening’
oneself in religion was not encouraged, he also stated to strive to be
‘near to perfection’, indicating that following the Islamic teachings as
closely as possible was a means to following religion in a moderate,
but pure-hearted manner. In this day and age, it appears that true
‘moderation’ in Islam, can only be achieved by following the original
teachings of Islam. The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), further expanded on how the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community represents Islam in its true form, as
prophecied by the Holy Prophet (sa):
‘And we, Ahmadi Muslims, believe the Founder of our Community to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi who was sent according to the prophecies of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa). During his life, the Promised Messiah (as) shined an eternal light upon Islam’s true teachings and informed the world of what Islam truly represents. Hence, the first point I wish to make clear is that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community should not be considered a “liberal” or “reformist” sect of Islam. Rather, we are following the original teachings of Islam, as prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa).’
In
highlighting that Islam’s true teachings are neither ‘liberal’ nor
‘reformist’, but moderate in their original form, His Holiness has made
apparent that the Western notion of ‘moderate Muslim’ is based on a
misrepresentation of Islam’s true essence by Western media and by the
extreme ends of the ‘spectrum’ of Muslims themselves.
It is also interesting that this term of ‘moderate Muslim’is
coined for the Muslim, by the non-Muslim, and a majority of Muslims
themselves would not use such a term. Applying such a dichotomy to any
religion is disingenuous and trivialises the faith of those billions of
Muslims who fall across a massive and diverse spectrum where the aim of
the majority is to reach the height of religious spirituality. Given
that there are 72 sects in Islam with each presenting a slightly
different interpretation of what they believe Islam to be, what then is
the yardstick against which we measure the terms ‘moderate’ and
‘extremist’ when describing this large diverse population?
Islam: a model of moderation?
The best yardstick for measuring a ‘moderate Muslim’ then
is to return to the original teachings and practices of a revealed
faith. In the aforementioned prophecy of the Prophet (sa) of Islam
regarding how ‘nothing of Islam’ but its ‘name’ would be left, glad
tidings were also given that renaissance of the religion would also come
by the Hand of God with the advent of the Messiah and Mahdi.
Furthermore, the ideologies of a jihadof
the sword would be put to rest by the revival of Islam by the Promised
Messiah (as). The Promised Messiah(as) explains the purpose of his
advent with the following words:
‘However, in this, the fourteenth century, Allah the Exalted sent me by way of divine appointment so that I may dispel the errors that have taken root within the Muslims internally and manifest the truth of Islam before the world.’ – (The Promised Messiah(as) ,Malfuzat-Volume 2, (Islam International Publications Ltd., 2019), 50.
The
nature of Islamic teachings are intrinsicly moderate and compatible
with the West. The true integration of Islam in a secular, Western
society is explained by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba):
‘Muslims are taught to show love, compassion and kindness to all of God’s Creation, especially to humanity, which Allah has deemed as the best of Creation. It is absolutely true that we, Ahmadi Muslims, are peace-loving and seek to build bridges of love and hope between different religions and different communities. However, this is not because we have deviated from Islam or modernised it in any shape or form. Rather, it is because we follow Islam’s authentic teachings.’
At a keynote address in Berlin, Germany (22ndOctober 2019) His Holiness also mentioned that there is no such ‘clash of civilizations’ between Islam and Europe:
‘In terms of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, we believe that under no circumstances does Islam permit the use of force or any type of coercion in the spread of faith. Why then is there a need to fear Islam? Why do people think that their civilisation or culture is at risk from Muslims?’
Countless
examples of the moderate nature of Islamic teachings are demonstrated
by none other than the Prophet (sa) of Islam himself who is the most
ideal example for all Muslims to emulate. One example of this was
narrated by his wife, Hazrat Aisha (ra), in which he described the
importance of fulfiling the many obligations in a person’s life:
‘The Prophet (sa) called ‘Uthman bin Maz’un. When he came to him, he said: ‘Uthman, did you dislike my practice? He said: No, by Allah, but I seek your practice. He said: I sleep, I pray, I keep fast, I (sometimes) leave the fast, and I marry women. Fear Allah, ‘Uthman, your wife has a right over you, your guest has a right over you, your self has a right over you; you should keep fast and (sometimes) leave the fast, and pray and sleep.
(Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab as-Salat, Hadith 1369)
Islam
is the model for moderation. The life of the Holy Prophet (sa) is the
perfect personification of those teachings. To be moderate is
synonymous with being a Muslim who follows the true teachings of Islam
in its most pristine and original form. As the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam
has reminded us in the following hadith :
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